2005 NBA finals

Team Coach Wins San Antonio Spurs Gregg Popovich 4 Detroit Pistons Larry Brown 3
Dates	June 9–23
MVP	Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
Hall of Famers	Spurs: Tim Duncan (2020) Manu Ginóbili (2022) Tony Parker (2023) Pistons: Chauncey Billups (2024) Ben Wallace (2021) Coaches: Larry Brown (2002) Gregg Popovich (2023) Officials: Dick Bavetta (2015)
Eastern finals	Pistons defeatedHeat, 4–3
Western finals	Spurs defeatedSuns, 4–1
← 2004 NBA finals 2006 →

The2005 NBA Finals was thechampionship series of theNational Basketball Association's (NBA)2004–05 season, and the culmination of theseason's playoffs. TheWestern Conference championSan Antonio Spurs played theEastern Conference championDetroit Pistons for the title,^[1] with the Spurs holdinghome court advantage and the Pistons asdefending champions. The series was played under abest-of-seven format (unlike the previous three rounds, the team with home court advantage hosted games one, two, six, and seven if all were necessary). It also marked the Pistons' first NBA Finals loss since1988.

The Spurs won the series four games to three in the first NBA Finals to go to a Game 7 since1994. The games were broadcast onABC, withAl Michaels andHubie Brown commentating. National radio coverage was provided byESPN Radio through announcersJim Durham andDr. Jack Ramsay.

This series was not only the first matchup of the previous two NBA champions since the 1987 Finals (Lakers d. Celtics, 4–2), it was a match up of the two premier defensive teams of that era: from the 2002–03 season to the 2004–05 season, the Spurs and Pistons routinely finished in the top three in Points Allowed: in 2003, Detroit was #1 and San Antonio #3; in 2004, the teams finished in a tie for the #1 spot; in 2005, the Spurs were #1 and the Pistons were #2. The Spurs were considered more capable of playing at a faster pace, as evidenced by their convincing win against the high-scoring Phoenix Suns during the Western Conference finals. However, both teams performed exceptionally well when scoring over 100 points (Detroit was 22–3, San Antonio was 28–2).

Going into the 2005 Finals, the Spurs had won two championships (1999 and2003), while Detroit had three (1989,1990, and2004). The 2004 Championship was considered a major upset by some sportswriters because of the Lakers' big name talent. Others saw the result as fully legitimate, pointing out that Detroit's defense outplayed the Lakers' offense. Further, the balanced Detroit offense proved especially difficult to deal with when Karl Malone's injured knee left the Lakers without a reliable presence to slow down the Pistons' Rasheed Wallace. Many thought that a contributing factor to the Lakers' loss was the well-publicized tension between superstarsShaquille O'Neal andKobe Bryant.

Both the Spurs and the Pistons were ranked number two in their respective conferences, with thePhoenix Suns ranked number one in theWest and theMiami Heat ranked number one in theEast.

Sportswriters all across the country generally considered this one of the fewtoo-close-to-call series to occur. Most picked the series to go to six or seven games.

The Spurs breezed through theplayoffs with relative ease, compared to the Pistons. They defeated theNuggets 4–1 to open the playoffs, winning four straight after losing the home opener. They then defeated theSuperSonics within six games the following series.Phoenix was expected by many to put up a challenge, but the Spurs won the series easily, four games to one.

The Pistons had a slightly tougher road back to the Finals. The opening round was a fairly easy five-game victory overPhiladelphia. Next, the Pistons faced theIndiana Pacers, one of the NBA's most resilient teams. Indiana was expected by most experts to falter and miss the playoffs after thePacers–Pistons brawl; however, led by retiring Pacers legendReggie Miller, the Pacers still made the playoffs and unexpectedly won their first-round series against the Atlantic Division championBoston Celtics. The Pacers mounted a formidable challenge but after a Game Six loss, Reggie Miller's storied 18-year career was over. Detroit's next opponent was the East #1 seedMiami, led byDwyane Wade andShaquille O'Neal. After winning Game One, the Pistons fell 2–1 after three games and 3–2 after five games. By winning Game Six on their home court, the Pistons forced a Game Seven. In Game Seven, Detroit overcame the odds to beat the Heat atAmerican Airlines Arena, and thus advanced to the NBA Finals for the second straight year.

Both teams split the two meetings, each won by the home team:

This was the first NBA Finals to have the sticker version of theLarry O'Brien Trophy adorn the center court (team logo still visible in the middle), with the NBA Finals wordmark logo on opposite ends of the court. This remained in effect until the2009 NBA Finals; the position of the O'Brien trophy was modified for the2007 NBA Finals.

All times are inEastern Daylight Time (UTC−4). If the venue is located in a different time zone, the local time is also given.

Manu Ginóbili was the star of Game 1, turning in a virtuoso performance in the fourth quarter to lead the Spurs to victory. Ginobili scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to complement a huge game by Tim Duncan (24 points, 17 rebounds).

Ginobili, who in the previous summer led Argentina in points and assists en route to Olympic gold, took over in the final period. He scored eight points in a decisive 12–2 surge that gave the Spurs a 67–55 lead, then throttled a push by the Pistons with a swooping dunk, 3-pointer and running hook for an 81–67 advantage with less than two minutes to go.

Having been idle for a week, the Spurs opened the game in lackluster fashion – in the first eight minutes the Spurs trailed 19–7 – but were able to fight back and stabilize the game. It may have happened that Detroit's more recent play led to fourth quarter fatigue which enabled the Spurs' strong fourth quarter; in any case, the Spurs prevailed in the first contest.

The resilient Detroit Pistons were expected to play a stronger Game 2 in response to their fourth-quarter letdown in Game 1. Exactly the opposite occurred. From the opening tip, Game 2 was all San Antonio as the Spurs got out to a quick lead and never looked back.

The Spurs took advantage of Detroit's uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the night, which included missing nine shots from inside four feet from the basket. While the Pistons went cold (0–6) from behind the three-point line, the Spurs made 11 3-pointers, including four each by Manu Ginóbili andBruce Bowen, who did not score a point in Game 1. Ginobili again led the Spurs with a 27 points, while Tim Duncan finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.Antonio McDyess was the high scorer for Detroit, scoring 15 points off the bench.

The 2–0 lead was a big advantage for San Antonio. In the history of the NBA, the team with home-court advantage started a series with a 2–0 lead 153 times. On just seven occasions, the trailing team rebounded to win the series.

In NBA history, only two teams had ever won a Finals series after facing a 2–0 deficit—theBoston Celtics in the1969 NBA Finals and thePortland Trail Blazers in the1977 NBA Finals—however, just one year later theMiami Heat would accomplish this feat against theDallas Mavericks in the2006 NBA Finals.

With that task looming ahead, the Pistons responded in tremendous fashion. Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton combined for 44 points, while Ben Wallace (15 pts, 11 reb, 5 blk, 3 stl) together with Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess harassed Tim Duncan into a 5–15 shooting night. The Pistons dominated the second half, outscoring the Spurs 55–37.

The Pistons became the first team to score more than 90 points in a Finals game against the Spurs during this game.

The pattern of the first two games held up in games 3 and 4: home team wins big in the first one and even bigger in the second. And Game 4 was the most lopsided of all during the 2005 NBA Finals; the Pistons' 102 points were the only time either team reached triple digits in the series.

Seven Pistons scored in double figures, especially efficient bench performances byLindsey Hunter and Antonio McDyess. In 22 minutes, Hunter scored 17 points and dished out 5 assists; McDyess scored 13 and grabbed 7 rebounds in just 19 minutes.

Conversely, only three Spurs scored in double figures (Ginobili, Duncan, Parker), and among all Spurs attempting five or more field goals, only Tony Parker (6–13, 46.2% shooting) managed to surpass the 45% mark. Collectively, the Spurs shot 37% and committed 17 turnovers to the Pistons' NBA Finals-record four.

Hunter's and Billups' 17 points were the fewest to lead an NBA Finals game sinceGeorge Yardley of the Fort Wayne Pistons led all scorers with 16 points in the fifth game of the1955 NBA Finals.^[2]

With the first four games of the 2005 Finals being blowouts by the home team, Game 5 was the close game everyone was waiting for, and it went down as one of the more memorable games in Finals history.

The game was closely contested by throughout the night as the lead changed 12 separate times, and the game was tied on 18 occasions. Regulation was not enough to settle this game, so the game went into overtime. The Pistons streaked out to a quick lead in the first few minutes of overtime, and seemed to have the game in hand. However, a missed layup by Chauncey Billups with Detroit ahead 95–93 with nine seconds remaining left San Antonio with a chance. On the Spurs' next possession,Robert Horry inbounded the ball to Ginobili, who headed for the left corner and dished it right back to Horry. Rasheed Wallace had left Horry to double-team Ginobili, and Horry was left alone to sink the game-winning basket with 5.8 seconds remaining in the OT. Horry was already famous for nailing last-second shots in the playoffs, including Game Four of the 2002 Western Conference finals between the Lakers andSacramento Kings.

Horry went 5 for 6 from beyond the arc, including the game-winner, and scored 21 points coming off the bench. He hadn't scored a point until the final play of the 3rd quarter. He carried the team in the fourth quarter and overtime as his teammates struggled with the weight of a must-win game on the road against an accomplished adversary. In addition to the game-winning three-pointer, late in overtime Horry made a spectacular left-handed dunk while being fouled as the shot clock wound down.

Tim Duncan, despite struggling from the free-throw line, finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds for the Spurs. Chauncey Billups was the high scorer for the Pistons, finishing with a game-high 34 points in the losing effort.

To date, this is the most recent NBA Finals game played in Metro Detroit.

Game 6 was a close game all along, and the lead kept fluctuating between the two teams. Again, the leading stars on both teams played big games. Detroit pulled away early in the fourth for an 80–73 lead with five minutes to go, but the Spurs continued to threaten them. Soon, it was back to a one-point game.

Then, Rasheed Wallace planted a three-pointer to pull away, and even with a resilient game by the Spurs, the Pistons had clinched the victory.

Nevertheless, several Pistons free throws were necessary in the final moments of the game to put a win out of reach for the Spurs.

Rasheed Wallace had a big game to atone for the mistake he made for leaving Horry open in Game 5. Despite his mistake, Wallace was nonchalant about the play, even commenting incorrectly that he left Horry to guard Duncan.

Billups andPrince again led the Pistons with steady, unwavering defense, which is the key, as it is often said, to victory. Although Duncan and Ginobili finished with 21 points each, neither was able to seriously threaten the strong Pistons defense enough to win the game. Detroit thus won its fifth consecutive game facing elimination. The Pistons became the first road team to force a Game 7 in the NBA Finals.

External videos
Full game broadcast by ABC onYouTube

For the first time in eleven years, the NBA Finals came down to a decisive Game 7. Momentum was on Detroit's side, but the Spurs had home-court advantage. The Pistons were looking to become the first team to ever win the last two games on the road after being down 3–2. NBA history was heavily in favor of the Spurs, who were looking to celebrate a title at the SBC Center for the second time in three years. NBA teams are 74–17 all-time at home in Game 7, and 9-0 when leading 3–2 going home.

Entering this game, the Pistons tied the1994 New York Knicks for most games played in a single postseason, with 25.^[3] TheBoston Celtics broke this record during their2008 championship season.^[3]

Like the previous two games of the series, Game 7 was closely contested throughout, but the Spurs fell into a nine-point deficit with 7:45 left in the third quarter. Though Tim Duncan was for much of the series unable to shoot for a high percentage against Detroit's front line, he led the Spurs out of that nine-point hole. In the final 7:45 of the third quarter, Duncan scored 10 of the teams' 18 final third quarter points and the game was tied to start the fourth. Behind clutch plays from Tim Duncan and Manu Ginóbili, the Spurs took control of the fourth quarter to earn an 81–74 victory, clinching the franchise's thirdLarry O'Brien Trophy. For the game, Tim Duncan finished with a game high 25 points and 11 rebounds, while teammate Manu Ginóbili pitched in with 23 points.Richard Hamilton, with 15 points, was the high scorer for the Pistons, who fell just short of winning back-to-back championships.

Tim Duncan won his thirdNBA Finals MVP Award. Manu Ginóbili, Tony Parker, and Bruce Bowen each received their second championship ring, while Robert Horry became only the second player in NBA history (John Salley being the first) to play on championship teams for three different franchises. Sean Marks became the first New Zealander to win a championship ring.

San Antonio Spurs

Detroit Pistons

The games were broadcast exclusively onABC in the US. (Locally, the games aired on ABC stationsKSAT-TV in San Antonio andWXYZ-TV in Detroit.) The featured song, aired throughout theplayoffs, wasRob Thomas' "This Is How A Heart Breaks." Game 3 had aNielsen rating percentage of only 7.2% of households and cumulating to a 7.1 average for the first three games, 32% lower than the average of the first three 2004 NBA Finals games.^[4] While all seven games were the top-rated shows of their nights, the average viewership of the 2005 Finals (11.5 million viewers, 7.6 rating/14share) decreased from the average of the 2004 Finals (17.9 million, 11.5/20). The 2003 Finals averaged 9.8 million viewers and 6.5/12.^[5]

The 2005 Finals would be Michaels' last major NBA assignment with ABC, though he remained with the network until afterSuper Bowl XL in February 2006. Shortly after ABC'sNFL TV contract ended, Michaels moved toNBC Sports to become the lead voice ofSunday Night Football. ABC's lead position was eventually filled byMike Breen.

The Spurs won a franchise-record 63 victories to clinch the top seed in the West in the2005–06 NBA season. However, for the third time they were unable to win consecutive championships, bowing to their Texas rivals, theDallas Mavericks, in Game 7 of theConference semifinals. The Mavs would go on to lose in the2006 NBA Finals. The Spurs went on to win the2007 NBA Finals the following year, their fourth as a franchise, and won again in2014.

As of 2023^[update], this is the Pistons’ last appearance in the NBA Finals. Head coach Larry Brown sought and succeeded in buying out his contract as head coach after the season. He eventually ended up coaching for his hometownNew York Knicks, but would only win 23 games in one season. Brown eventually left after the season, and two years later Brown resurfaced, this time coaching theCharlotte Bobcats, where he would lead them to the playoffs in his second year.

The Pistons, guided by new coachFlip Saunders, won a franchise-record 64 games and seemed primed to regain the NBA title. However, Detroit fell in six games to theMiami Heat, who would go on and win the 2006 NBA title. Franchise centerpieceBen Wallace abruptly left for theChicago Bulls, yet the Pistons still made the conference finals the next two seasons, losing to theCleveland Cavaliers andBoston Celtics, respectively. Finally, the remaining core of the team was dismantled at the start of the2008-09 NBA season.

• "Official website".NBA.com. Archived fromthe original on December 3, 2010. RetrievedMay 17, 2008.

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